CYCLONE REMAL: EASTERN COASTAL STATES ON RED ALERT
The metrological department of India, which comes under the Ministry of Earth Science, and is responsible for taking care of Regional Specialized Metrological Centres for Tropical Cyclones Over the North Indian Ocean has issued a red alert in the region of West Bengal and coastal regions of Odisha as Cyclone Remal is about to hit the Coastal states on Sunday 26th May 2024.
It is expected that by the early morning of 26th May, apart from making landfall in coastal Indian states it will also hit Bangladesh with more intensity. As of 25th May, the system was centered around 420 km south of Khepupara, Bangladesh, and was heading forward with a speed of 11 km per hour. Henceforth, as per the forecast till Sunday, the speed will intensify up to 135 km per hour. Causing heavy rainfall along with thunderstorms.
What is a Cyclone?
A cyclone is a storm that originates over the water body and its effects are seen across the coastal regions. When the temperature over a large water body increases to a significant level it leads to a warming up of water as a result the warm air starts rising up. The vacuum created at the surface is again occupied with cool air. This process continues till the clouds above get saturated and are not capable of holding water anymore. The circular wind formation formed in a water body is called a cyclone. The cyclone can extend up to 50 km The cyclone formed in the Indian Ocean can affect India, Bangladesh, Australia, Sri Lanka, Eastern Africa, and Island nations in the Indian Ocean like Maldives and Mauritius.
How The Cyclones Are Named?
Cyclone ‘Remal’ this name is provided by Oman. The process of naming the cyclones started in 1972 by WMO and UNESCAP and cyclones were named as per the nomenclature. But in 2000, a discussion was held about the cyclones in the North Indian Ocean over the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. Where it was decided that names would be given as per the set rules and the names would be provided by the 8 regional countries. That included India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman and Thailand. Later 5 more countries were included in the list now there are a total of 13 countries. As Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Yemen were also included.
So, each country provides 13 names as per the rules. Like, the name should not be repeated once used, maximum length of the name should be 8 letters. It should be easy to pronounce. Should not offend any region in any way. Henceforth forming a total of 169 names. As per the list, this cyclone was named Remal which means in Sand in Arabic.
